diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
index e7d0ba8df..54f708d3a 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
@@ -170,7 +170,12 @@ private[sbt] class TaskProgress(
       val currentTasksCount = currentTasks.size
       def event(tasks: Vector[(TaskId[?], Long)]): ProgressEvent = {
         if (tasks.nonEmpty) nextReport.set(Deadline.now + sleepDuration)
-        val toWrite = tasks.sortBy(_._2)
+        // Sort by elapsed seconds (rounded down), then by name for stability.
+        // Without rounding, microsecond jitter causes tasks with similar start times
+        // to swap positions on every refresh, making the display hard to read. See #5466.
+        val toWrite = tasks.sortBy { (task, elapsed) =>
+          (elapsed / 1000000L, taskName(task))
+        }
         val distinct = new java.util.LinkedHashMap[String, ProgressItem]
         toWrite.foreach { (task, elapsed) =>
           val name = taskName(task)
diff --git a/main/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgressSpec.scala b/main/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgressSpec.scala
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fb9850052
--- /dev/null
+++ b/main/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgressSpec.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*
+ * sbt
+ * Copyright 2023, Scala center
+ * Copyright 2011 - 2022, Lightbend, Inc.
+ * Copyright 2008 - 2010, Mark Harrah
+ * Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (see LICENSE)
+ */
+
+package sbt.internal
+
+import sbt.internal.util.ProgressItem
+import verify.BasicTestSuite
+
+object TaskProgressSpec extends BasicTestSuite {
+
+  // Reproduces the sorting logic from TaskProgress.report() so we can test it in isolation.
+  // The real code sorts Vector[(TaskId[?], Long)] then maps to ProgressItem, but the
+  // ordering key is (elapsedMicros / 1_000_000, name) -- we test that contract here.
+  private def sortItems(items: Vector[ProgressItem]): Vector[ProgressItem] =
+    items.sortBy(item => (item.elapsedMicros / 1000000L, item.name))
+
+  test("tasks with different elapsed seconds are sorted by elapsed time ascending") {
+    val items = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("compile", 5_000_000L), // 5s
+      ProgressItem("update", 2_000_000L), // 2s
+      ProgressItem("test", 8_000_000L), // 8s
+    )
+    val sorted = sortItems(items)
+    assert(sorted.map(_.name) == Vector("update", "compile", "test"))
+  }
+
+  test("tasks within the same elapsed second are sorted alphabetically by name") {
+    // All three tasks are within the same 1-second bucket (1s)
+    val items = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("zinc", 1_900_000L),
+      ProgressItem("compile", 1_100_000L),
+      ProgressItem("api", 1_500_000L),
+    )
+    val sorted = sortItems(items)
+    assert(sorted.map(_.name) == Vector("api", "compile", "zinc"))
+  }
+
+  test("sub-second microsecond jitter does not change ordering (#5466)") {
+    // Two tasks started at almost the same time. On successive refreshes, their
+    // microsecond elapsed times may flip relative order. With second-granularity
+    // rounding + alphabetical tiebreak, the order must stay stable.
+    val refresh1 = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("b / compile", 3_000_100L), // 3.000100s
+      ProgressItem("a / compile", 3_000_200L), // 3.000200s
+    )
+    val refresh2 = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("b / compile", 3_500_200L), // 3.500200s -- now b > a in micros
+      ProgressItem("a / compile", 3_500_100L), // 3.500100s
+    )
+    val sorted1 = sortItems(refresh1)
+    val sorted2 = sortItems(refresh2)
+    // Both refreshes should produce the same order: alphabetical within same second bucket
+    assert(sorted1.map(_.name) == Vector("a / compile", "b / compile"))
+    assert(sorted2.map(_.name) == Vector("a / compile", "b / compile"))
+  }
+
+  test("tasks crossing a second boundary do change position") {
+    val items = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("update", 2_999_999L), // still in 2s bucket
+      ProgressItem("compile", 3_000_001L), // in 3s bucket
+    )
+    val sorted = sortItems(items)
+    assert(sorted.map(_.name) == Vector("update", "compile"))
+  }
+
+  test("mixed buckets: elapsed seconds dominate, names break ties within") {
+    val items = Vector(
+      ProgressItem("z-task", 1_200_000L), // 1s bucket
+      ProgressItem("a-task", 1_800_000L), // 1s bucket
+      ProgressItem("m-task", 2_100_000L), // 2s bucket
+      ProgressItem("b-task", 500_000L), // 0s bucket
+    )
+    val sorted = sortItems(items)
+    assert(sorted.map(_.name) == Vector("b-task", "a-task", "z-task", "m-task"))
+  }
+
+  test("empty input produces empty output") {
+    assert(sortItems(Vector.empty) == Vector.empty)
+  }
+
+  test("single task is returned as-is") {
+    val items = Vector(ProgressItem("compile", 5_000_000L))
+    assert(sortItems(items) == items)
+  }
+}